PC free: a reality or a phantasm?

[gatearray]

4. Pixel Density.

I owned iPad 1, and I won't own another until I can't see pixels. 😉

The iPad's display has the same pixel density as your 11" MBA, and is much better than your 27" iMac. See all those pixels, just sitting there, mocking your sensibilities and everything you believe in?

Now that you know the truth, moving forward I suppose you'll be typing Word docs from your iPhone 4 via LogMeIn to your Macbook. Life is so much better and productive when it's experienced on a pixel-free 3.5" display, is it not?

On the other hand, now that you're aware of how serious this situation is, suicide just might be the answer. 🙂

 

[steadysignal]

It has been said a number of times, and even Apple loyalists have said that the iPad really is more a consumption than a creation device.

totally on point.

i use it as a tool, situationally. i find myself sometimes needing my mbp or my mba, i use those...

its almost like a swiss army knife to me...does somethings great, others, not so much.

 

[vrDrew]

It has been said a number of times, and even Apple loyalists have said that the iPad really is more a consumption than a creation device..

There was a story earlier this week about military and civilian aircrews replacing many of the paper maps and other documentation they carry with iPads.

One can certainly say that these aircrew are "consuming" the data contained in the maps, as opposed to using the iPad as a portable cartography device.

But the inference in the term "consumption device": that the iPad is some sort of toy, incapable of doing the "real work" that a laptop or other full-featured computer does , is essentially false.

For a lot of occupations, the real day-to-day work does involve reading, listening to, or otherwise absorbing data. Whether its looking at medical charts; studying business prospectuses; researching legal precedents; interpreting CAD drawings - these are all instances where professionals use an iPad to do their job. The fact that an iPad is considerably more portable, reliable, longer-lived, and outright convenient than its PC equivalent is the germane point.

There is a curious, and to my mind misplaced, snobbery in the "consumption device" jibe. As if the pilot who is using a Jeppesen chart is somehow a less accomplished human being than the cartographers who made it. To me, the real mark of professionalism is using the right tool for the job. Just as we wouldn't sneer at the sculptor who prefers a chisel over a (tecnhnically more powerful) jackhammer for his marble, a pilot who uses the (lighter, more portable, more capable, more secure, less power-hungry) iPad is simply making an appropriate choice in his tools.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Although the iPad is mostly a consumption device is does have potential to bump it's professional and academic appeal. Quite a number of organisations like banks, universities and supermarkets are getting behind the iPad with apps allowing you to carry out daily or weekly activities in a simple and quick to use app environment. So for a certain demographics the iPad could very well suffice for couch surfing and simple browsing. But for computing outside of email and simple document typing the iPad still has a long way to go before it's capable of replacing a PC. Just look at the years and decades it look for laptops to measure up to desktops. However, I can already see tablets with docking stations becoming laptop replacements in 2-3 years time. ARM CPUs are getting ever more powerful and both Microsoft and Apple are adapting their future operating systems to run on ARM.

If I was to my mother a computer today it would certainly be an iPad. It would serve her basic needs very well. The Asus Transformer is a massive leap in the right direction and I look forward to Apple morphing the 11 inch Air and iPad into a device that combines both.

 

[knoxtown]

I'm with the poster above ^

It really depends on what you do. I'm continuously running photoshop, illustrator, safari, mail, and who knows what else. Obviously, an iPad isn't going to cut it for someone like me.

However, for my mom, that's all she needs. She checks her email once a day, browses a little on the internet, and listens to some music... that's it. Does she need a 1200 dollar computer? Not at all.

It really just depends on what you do. One thing we all DO know, it will never replace the computer across the board. 🙂

 

[EssentialParado]

I've been using my iPad as my primary computer almost exclusively the last year and it's great for content consumption but also pulls its weight in content production too. The major limitations for me with the iPad were back-ups, over the air OS updates, and lack of video conferencing. But those have now all been covered with iOS 5 and iPad 2's addition of a camera.

Every other limitation is of the maturity of software; both of the OS—iOS needs a universal file system and I believe this is likely Apple's next priority—and of the software on the App Store. Image editing apps are not at the feature level of Photoshop but they're catching up, one update at a time.

And to answer the OP's question: yes, there are web development apps. Some are actually awesome and better than most desktop equivalents.

On a computer websites load in fractions of a second while the ipad still takes around ten seconds to load.

Woahhh. Ten seconds? My iPad never takes that long to load a page. In fact, Safari on my iPad is considerably faster than Safari on my Mac after a few tabs are opened.

Third is compatibility. The iPad has so many limitations as far as compatible software, accessory ports, and limited file management/file software support. So if you find something you like online, you can't download it, you can't view flash as well a certain kinds of java or direct x software, you cant get music on you device outside of iTunes, you cant have any type cd or DVD support, you're limited to what's in the app store for programs.

How are accessory ports a problem? Generally the things people wish to plug in are supported via a dock adaptor.
I've lived Flash-free for a year now, and anything I've been unable to view on my iPad has not been important enough to worry about. I'm not saying this experience will be the same for everyone, but it certainly will be for 99% of users.
You do have access to entertainment from other sources. There are many music apps and browsers that let you download files. I've even had musicians link me to a mediafire.com URL, where I go through the captcha process, download their song in a zip file, unzip the folder, then listen to the mp3 and transfer it to other apps. Granted, I am unaware if it's possible to put music into the native Music app in iOS 5, but a universal file system is surely coming and will make this possible. Lots of other options in the mean time.

Forth is what has been mentioned before, and that is creation. If you want to write a report, it's just much easier to do on a computer, and not just because of the keyboard. On a computer you can have a bunch of resource websites open, have your word proccessor (word, pages, ect.) and just go back and forth between them all so quickly and effortlessly. Sure you could write on the iPad, but it's a lot more trouble.

I think the switch app gesture makes this much simpler on iOS 5. Some form of split-screening would be nice in the future though, you're right.

I managed to write a resume on Pages for iPad. Done. I can email it, but I can't attach it to job search websites! 😡

As someone said, the iCab browser lets you upload files to websites. I've uploaded photos and files using iCab. Another option is to check if the job search website has its own app.

 

[Piggie]

Woahhh. Ten seconds? My iPad never takes that long to load a page. In fact, Safari on my iPad is considerably faster than Safari on my Mac after a few tabs are opened.

I agree 10 second is pushing it, but Engadget can take a long time sometimes.

If you are finding your Mac slower than your iPad at rendering web pages, then either you have a very old Mac, or I suggest you or someone else takes a good look at it to find out why,

 

[donnaw]

Funny, all I got from Jobs and the "pc free" thing was that with the new OS our iPad would no longer need a PC to sync, etc. I did not get the idea that this OS was meant to move the entire population to a PC free environment.

The iPad is a great device. Not needing to have a "mother" PC to maintain/sync etc will be great but it in no way will enable most people to live completely PC free. Even if the majority of people don't need a PC at home a vast number use them at work. The iPad is not capable of replacing those machines. Even the folks I know who only do simple Word doc and Excel spreadsheets would not be able to function just with an iPad. One main reason I can give off the top of my head is the inability to have multiple windows open at the same time. Even those people who just " consume" information must be able to do so efficiently at work.

Nope, I took the statement to mean the iPad could now function without a PC - period.